Badger cull would pander to farming lobby and solve nothing, say animal activists

Animal welfare groups have condemned the Government’s decision to launch a pilot badger-culling scheme in a bid to tackle tuberculosis in cattle – despite the lack of scientific evidence proving that a cull will have the desired effects.

by Marcus Papadopoulos
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

In a move which could result in 35,000 badgers being shot by farmers and landowners, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman announced the scheme in the south west of England next summer as a “managed policy of badger control” to curb the spread of TB.

But animal welfare groups, along with Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh, argue that the cull will result in thousands of badgers being maimed and say the government has failed to present any credible evidence that the cull will reduce TB among cattle.

Suspicion is growing that the Conservative-led coalition has opted for a cull of badgers as a way of “getting back” at the animal welfare lobby for the ban on hunting with dogs and as a way of “cosying up” to farmers and landowners – traditional supporters of the Conservative Party.

Speaking to Tribune, Kate Fowler, head of campaigns at Animal Aid, one of the organisations leading opposition to the cull, highlighted the pain and suffering that shot badgers experience and questioned the motives for the Government’s decision.

She said: “Shooting badgers as they run for their lives can never be humane. Wounded animals experience a terrible and protracted death. Far from being a solution, such a method could make the situation worse, as any infected badgers fleeing the shooting could spread the disease further. This cull is cruel and pointless, and appears to be more about appeasing farmers than about animal protection.”

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  • chrisgale41

    Also to be highlighted in this ‘plan’ is the huge danger to the public, other wildlife and animals from the plan to allow groups of so -called ‘marksmen’ to roam the countryside at night with high-powered stalking rifles.

    Some badgers will certainly be wounded with consequential devastating bad
    publicity for farmers and the government. And how are they going to ensure the
    safety of people who choose to walk the countryside at night? The Deer Society
    banned night shooting of deer after a fatal accident, and there have been other
    fatal accidents involving fox lamping. It is an ill-conceived farce which the majority of scientists know will not work.

  • Anonymous

    We poison them, we do not shot them. an ex farmer

  • Anonymous

    In that case you should be be prosecuted. Poisoning badgers (and most other wildlife) is illegal, and the use of poisons is totally indescriminate. And famers have the nerve to call themselves the “stewards of the countryside” ? God help us all !

  • Anonymous

    How silly can you lot be, I left the farm in the 1960′s after we got hit with TB of the fourth time taking the  fourth herd with TB, now if it’s badgers and I will admit it has not been proved, but in the 1960′s we poisoned badgers and some farms gased them, I’m sure a court of law would be interested .

    I can see a bunch of ex soldiers sitting in a field shooting badgers and the badgers will come out and surrender

  • Anonymous

    Did it ever occur to Treborc that repeated outbreaks of  bTB on his farm were indicators of latency–ie undetected infected cattle which repeatedly passed the disease on to others in his herd? Does it even occur to him today that what he was doing wasn’t simply inhumane, cruel, stupid  and illegal but was also reactive culling, almost certain to worsen bTB spread rather than improve it? Defra say they will encourage farmers to disinfect premises, install biosecurity measures, safely dispose of (or store for months) manure and slurry likely to be infected with TB. They’slaughter thousands of uninfected badgers but only encourage farmers to do the things that will knock bTB spread on its head. How’s that for a balanced package of measures?

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